Meta Business Agent: should your salon let Meta's AI answer chats?

On 3 June 2026 Meta opened its Business Agent to businesses around the world. It is an AI that answers your customers on WhatsApp and Messenger, and Meta says Instagram messages are next. It is free to start. Paid plans come "in the coming months", and Meta hasn't said what they will cost.

For a salon or a small shop that gets the same ten questions every day, this can be a good free first step. If your bookings, prices and customer data need to stay in your own tools, you still need your own chatbot.

What did Meta announce?

Meta showed the agent at its Conversations event in London. There are two versions. Business Agent sits inside the free WhatsApp Business app and is meant for small businesses. Business Agent Platform is for large companies and connects to systems like Shopify and Zendesk.

According to Meta, the agent answers questions about your business, recommends products from your catalogue, books appointments and sorts new enquiries. You decide when a person from your team steps in.

businesses already use a Meta Business Agent on WhatsApp and Messenger

1M+

Meta, 3 June 2026

conversations a week with Meta's business AI, late March 2026

10M

Meta via TechCrunch, 30 April 2026

to start. Paid subscriptions announced, no prices yet

€0

Meta, 3 June 2026

The agent learns from what Meta already has about you: your Facebook Page posts, your past WhatsApp chats and your website. You can add a catalogue, price lists, FAQs and photos. You also choose who it answers: everyone, only new customers, or only people who came from your ads.

Can you use it in Slovakia and the rest of the EU?

Meta calls the launch global. Its own product page is more careful: the agent is for "eligible businesses in select markets", with more markets coming. There is no public country list, and Europe isn't mentioned.

It is the same with languages. Meta says the agent replies in the customer's local language but doesn't list which ones. Before Slovak customers see it, test it in Slovak yourself.

The quickest check takes two minutes. Update the WhatsApp Business app, open Tools and look for Meta Business Agent. If it's there, you can try it.

What will it cost later?

Today it costs nothing. Meta says businesses will use it through paid subscriptions "in the coming months", with options for every size. TechCrunch reports that the agent will sit in some tiers of a paid WhatsApp Business subscription, and large businesses will pay by usage.

In April Mark Zuckerberg already said business AIs are free "for most businesses" for now. So plan as if it will cost money one day. I wouldn't build my whole booking process on a tool whose price I don't know yet.

What can't it do, and what hasn't Meta said?

• It lives only in Meta's apps. It doesn't answer on your website, by email or on the phone.
• Booking is unclear for small businesses. Meta says the agent books appointments but hasn't said which calendars or booking tools it works with. If you use Reservio, Bookio or Fresha, check this first.
• It repeats your old posts. If your Facebook Page still shows 2023 prices, the agent may quote them. Clean your sources before you switch it on.
• You can't look inside. You can't choose the AI model, and you see less of how answers are made than with your own chatbot.

What about GDPR and telling people it's an AI?

I'm not a lawyer, so here are the questions I would ask before switching it on.

Under GDPR you are responsible for your customers' data. WhatsApp's Business Data Processing Terms (updated 22 August 2025) describe WhatsApp as your processor for customer contact details, with sub-processors in the EEA and the US. Meta's June announcement doesn't explain how the agent uses your chats, whether they help train Meta's AI, or how long they are kept. Read the terms the app shows you at setup.

Two things I would do in any case. Add a sentence to your privacy notice that you use Meta's AI to answer chats. And don't let the agent ask for health details. This matters for clinics, and for salons that ask about allergies.

From 2 August 2026 the EU AI Act (Article 50) requires that people are told when they talk to an AI system, unless it's obvious. That duty sits mainly with the provider, here Meta. Meta's announcement doesn't say how customers will see it. I would add a line to the greeting myself: "Hi, I'm the salon's AI assistant. Write 'person' and Jana will reply."

Meta's agent or your own chatbot?

What would I do now?

If you are still deciding whether a chatbot makes sense at all, my post on where AI chatbots help and where they don't has a quick self-test. And if you want a second opinion on Meta's agent versus a chatbot on your own site, write to me. Sometimes my answer will be: start with Meta's free agent. When you need more, here is what I build in AI and automation.

Questions people ask

Is Meta Business Agent free?

It is free to start, as of June 2026. Meta says businesses will use it through paid subscriptions "in the coming months" but has not published prices.

Can I use it in Slovakia or elsewhere in the EU?

Meta calls the launch global but says it is for eligible businesses in select markets and gives no country list. Update the WhatsApp Business app and check under Tools. If Meta Business Agent is there, you can use it.

Does it answer in Slovak, German or Ukrainian?

Meta says it replies in the customer's local language but lists no languages. Test it with 20 real questions in your language before you switch it on for customers.

Do I have to tell customers they are talking to an AI?

From 2 August 2026 the EU AI Act requires that people are told when they talk to an AI system, unless it is obvious. That duty sits mainly with the provider, here Meta. I would still add one clear line to your greeting.

Can I use Meta's agent and a chatbot on my website at the same time?

Yes. They live in different places. Keep the facts the same in both, so a customer gets the same price on WhatsApp and on your website.

Sources

1. Introducing Meta Business Agent, Meta / WhatsApp Business, checked 30 June 2026
2. Meta Business Agent on WhatsApp (product page), Meta / WhatsApp Business, checked 30 June 2026
3. Meta's AI agent for WhatsApp Business is now available globally, TechCrunch, 3 June 2026
4. Meta says its business AI now facilitates 10 million conversations a week, TechCrunch, 30 April 2026
5. Meta introduces AI Business Agent for WhatsApp worldwide, WABetaInfo, 5 June 2026
6. WhatsApp Business Data Processing Terms (updated 22 August 2025), WhatsApp, checked 30 June 2026
7. Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 (AI Act), Article 50, EUR-Lex, checked 30 June 2026

Facts and prices are as of the dates in the sources.